Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site

Keywords: Media Laws

  • AUSTRALIA

    A second try at combatting disinformation

    • Frank Brennan
    • 25 September 2024

    The Government is making another valiant effort to rein in the adverse effects of ungoverned digital platforms. But in debating such a detailed bill without the backstop of a constitutional or statutory bill of rights recognising the right to freedom of expression, there are no clear guard rails for getting the balance right. 

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Sports gambling ninjas endangering kids

    • Michael McVeigh
    • 11 September 2024

    Gambling ads are infiltrating children's sports content, raising concerns about the impact on the development of young minds. Is our current gambling culture something we want to hand on to the next generation?

    READ MORE
  • INTERNATIONAL

    Pope takes refugee concerns on the road

    • Robin Osborne
    • 05 September 2024

    Pope Francis has frequently voiced sympathy for refugee concerns and before leaving on this trip, he reaffirmed his call for safe migration pathways for people fleeing their own countries for fear of persecution, describing any refusal to harbour asylum seekers as a ‘grave sin’.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Seeking refuge, finding red tape

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 05 July 2024

    There is no doubt that laws for determining refugee status and onshore protection are complex. The cases of NZYQ and ASF17 demonstrate that when laws regarding asylum and protection intersect with laws regarding character and protection of the community, the results can be extremely messy.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    For better laws on family violence, we need better data

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 27 June 2024

    In addressing family violence, the immediate emphasis must be to protect women and children. But if the only response is harsher penalties in addressing any social problem, it is bound to be ineffective. Regulation depends also on understanding why people are drawn to behave badly and how the culture that supports it can be changed.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    The Sentencing of David McBride

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 11 June 2024

    Former Australian military lawyer David McBride was convicted for leaking documents to the ABC which exposed war crimes in Afghanistan. He is the sole individual to be convicted in exposing alleged atrocities in the Afghanistan campaign by Australian special forces. 

    READ MORE
  • MEDIA

    Facebook news ban: independent media hardest hit

    • Monika Lancucki
    • 22 February 2021

    Last Thursday, Facebook blocked news content in Australia. Many of us had been expecting this in response to the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. But the breadth and severity of what occurred was brutal. The content blocked was not only that of large media companies. Public interest, not-for-profit, and religious media — many of whom rely heavily on Facebook to share messages with their readers — were blocked as well.  

    READ MORE
  • ENVIRONMENT

    Depp dog stunt distracts from real ecological violence

    • Bronwyn Lay
    • 21 April 2016
    15 Comments

    In the face of the increasing environmental destruction legally occurring within Australia's borders, chasing actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for bringing their undeclared dogs into Australia in breach of biosecurity laws comes across as a curated media stunt. Like everywhere in the world, Australian environmental law is at a crossroads. On one hand government regulations that permit violence against habitat increase, and on the other, legal challenges against this destruction rise.

    READ MORE
  • MEDIA

    Turnbull's bone for the News Corp behemoth

    • Ray Cassin
    • 24 March 2014
    17 Comments

    Malcolm Turnbull is unusual among Australian politicians in having a keen regard for the role of journalism in a democracy. That makes his blithe disregard of the prospect of handing Rupert Murdoch even greater influence over Australian politics all the more puzzling. It is unsurprising that some observers see the foreshadowed change to media ownership laws as a pay-off for News Corp's support of the Coalition in the 2013 election.

    READ MORE
  • MEDIA

    Free speech is safe from Conroy's feather duster

    • Ray Cassin
    • 20 March 2013
    5 Comments

    Free speech is not at risk, and the media companies know it. Their real fears concern the proposed Public Interest Media Advocate's task to determine whether future mergers and acquisitions are in the public interest. The outcry is motivated by self-interest, not concern for the rights and freedoms of citizens. 

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Controversies forgotten amid 'boisterous' WYD celebrations

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 July 2008
    11 Comments

    Media coverage before a big event, be it World Youth Day or the Beijing Olympics, always focuses on defects and ideological conflict. Controversies regarding state funding and anti-annoyance laws aside, the young people celebrated WYD in their own way.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Three card trick keeps media oligopoly firmly in place

    • Jack Waterford
    • 30 October 2006

    John Howard seems to have pulled off the three-card trick, on both the National Party and the public, with changes to the media laws. His spin was that the small concessions were worth it in its efforts to "free up'' Australia's media.

    READ MORE